Electronic Data Exchange (EDI) was first adopted by industries in the US to streamline their internal operations by automating business processes requiring repetitive processing of data. EDI was developed by shipping and transportation industries about 30 years ago to reduce the burden of paperwork, an important factor in the cost of doing business. It was later on adopted by those players including the top stock trading companies that had to manage huge amount of complex data.

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Traditional applications of EDI included
• Purchase orders
• Bills of lading
• Invoices
• Shipping orders
• Trade payments

Before the EDI became popular with the stock traders, the early users of EDI were
• Automotive sector
• Banking
• Chemical
• Entertainment
• Financial services
• Freight carriers
• Grocery and food service providers
• Healthcare sector
• Information technology
• Insurance
• Manufacturing
• Mass merchandising
• Publishing houses
• Transportation sector
• Telecommunications industries

Many government agencies across the globe, especially those involved in international trade, customs and supplies are now using EDI. The Discount houses and brokers community in the US embraced EDI in the early 1980s when they mostly connected their remote locations online. Thereafter, the internet facilitated the extension of the online trading platforms within the immediate reach of the prominent investors.